Officials from the Covid-19 public inquiry fear people attending its hearings could catch coronavirus, guidelines suggest.
A document published on the inquiry’s website last night urges ‘all staff and visitors’ to take a lateral flow test before attending its sessions. People have also been told they can wear masks if they feel ‘more comfortable’ doing so.
The Covid Inquiry will begin its public hearings today with a film featuring testimonies from bereaved families.
There will also be opening statements from lawyers for ‘core participants’, with the first expert evidence beginning tomorrow.
The inquiry will spend the next six weeks examining the UK’s resilience and preparedness before looking at factors such as government decision-making, vaccine rollout and the care sector.
A document published on the inquiry’s website last night urges ‘all staff and visitors’ to take a lateral flow test before attending its sessions. People have also been told they can wear masks if they feel ‘more comfortable’ doing so (pictured: Baroness Heather Hallet, chair of the Covid Inquiry)
Tory MP Marco Longhi (pictured) said: ‘Independent Sage didn’t, and still don’t, have any mandate. Everybody is an expert these days, and it’s obvious there are polarised views across the spectrum of opinions’
Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt (pictured) said the inquiry is important ‘for the resilience of the country’
The probe is not expected to conclude until 2026.
While other inquiries have opened across the world, the UK’s will be the first to reach public hearings with evidence from witnesses.
But there are concerns members of the Independent SAGE group of scientists, who advocated for harsher lockdowns, could be called to give evidence.
Tory MP Marco Longhi said: ‘Independent Sage didn’t, and still don’t, have any mandate. Everybody is an expert these days, and it’s obvious there are polarised views across the spectrum of opinions.’
A raft of measures have been introduced to ‘reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission’ at the inquiry’s first module at Dorland House in Paddington, west London, even though all legal restrictions in England ended in February 2022.
They include sanitising stations, with antiviral wipes available throughout the venue.
Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt said the inquiry is important ‘for the resilience of the country’, adding: ‘What people will see is some pretty heroic activity in Whitehall and amongst some politicians too.’
